Blade dispensing and receiving magazine



Oct. 26, 1954 M. J. SHNITZLER El AL BLADE DISPENSING AND RECEIVING MAGAZINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 15, 1948 ,l wdenzom Patented Oct. 26, 1954 BLADE DISPENSING AND RECEIVING' MAGAZINE Meyer J. Shnitzler, Brookline, Michael Douglas Benedict, Jr., Lynn, and Ralph Abrams, Roxbury, Mass., assignors to The Gillette Company, a corporation of Delaware Application October 15, 1948, Serial N 0. 54,782

Claims. .1

This invention comprises a new and improved magazine for dispensing unwrapped sharp-edged blades, such as safety razor blades, and for receiving used blades for safe disposition;

In one aspect, the magazine comprises a unitary device for containing an ample supply of unwrapped blades with their keen cutting edges safely guarded from damage and in convenient position to be ejected by the user one by one as required for shaving, together with a chamber or compartment contained within the general contour of the magazine to which the blades may be delivered one by one when they have become dulled in use. Thus, in a compact and unitary device the user is supplied with a convenient source of fresh sharp blades and a convenient and safe receptacle for the dispo sition of used blades.

It is desirable in many cases for the manufacturer to load or charge the magazine with a stack of sharp blades which are maintained in predetermined position within the magazine by a normally bowed spring and. to maintain the spring in flattened and inoperative condition during the charging operation. In this aspect, another feature of the invention comprisesthe provision of a hooked stud on the innerface of one of the blade-enclosing members of the magazine by which the spring may be located in flattened condition and in a position to extend into the path of a beveled surface shaped to engage and shift the flattened spring into operative condition in the routine movement of bringing the magazine parts together in assembled relation.

Another feature of the invention consistsin a blade-positioning. spring which is transversely bowed and which engages the bottom of the magazine at its side edges where the bottom is stiffened by the side walls of the magazine and thus reinforced against distortion which sometimes occurs in plastic articles maintained under long continued stress.- The latter features are not herein claimed but form the subject matter of our co-pending application Serial No. 300,666 filed July 24, 1952.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of'the complete magazine;

enlarged scale;

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are respectively views in plan, side elevation and bottom plan;

Fig.6 is a view in central longitudinal section;

Figs. 7 and 8- areviews in cross-section respectively onthe lines and 8-8 of Fig. 6;

Figs. 9, 10 and 11 are views of the top member of the magazine respectively in end elevation, longitudinal section and bottom plan; and

Fig. 12 is a. fragmentary view on a still larger scale of one wallof the top member.

The-magazine in its illustrated form comprises a top member ID rectangular in contour with end portions which slope symmetrically, thus contributing to a tapering end effect in the magazine as a-whole. The member 10 may be molded as a shell of resinous material or fashioned from light metal and may be made in particular attractive form from Vinylite or other transparent or translucent material. It includes side walls II and [2 which are stiff but slightly resilient. It is provided in its upper face with an oval finger opening [3 through which the uppermost blade of the stack contained in the magazine is exposed and may be reached by the user when he desires to withdraw it for use. As shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 10, four short ribs 14 project downwardly from the inner faceof the top portion of the magazine, these ribs being located in pairs upon opposite sides of the fingeropening l3; and adjacent to its sideedges. The lower edges of the ribs [4 lie in a common plane and. determine the vertical position of the blade stack within the magazine.

Each of the inner walls of the top member is provided with a pair of fiat vertically extending ribs 15 beveled at their lower ends to present inclined cam surfaces. These cam surfaces have the function of shifting a bowed spring into operative position on the bottom member of the magazine when the magazine parts are assembled. as explained in our co-pending application above-identified. Each of the side walls H and I2 is' provided with a series of longitudinal slots It shaped to interlock with corresponding pro- .iections formed in' the side walls of the bottom member. The end edges of the upper member Hi are designed to provide the upper-edge of an exit slot at each end of the magazine and each of these edges is provided with a square notch I! so located as to provide ample clearance for both sharp-edgesof a blade being ejected or removed from the magazine or for any other purpose.

Cooperating with the top member, which has just been described, in providing an enclosure for the blade stack is a bottom member 20 which is also rectangular in outline and has upwardly curved end portions which are spaced at their outer ends from the corresponding end portions of the top member so as to provide the exit slots of the magazine. The bottom member includes side walls 2| and 22 as best shown in Fig. 8. From the inner face of the bottom member project a pair of undercut studs 23, each providing a catch to hold a normally bowed spring in flat condition. A pair of blade-locating ribs 26 and 25 extend upwardly from the inner face of the bottom member being located symmetrically in the major axis of the magazine with a substantial open free space between their inner ends. The upwardly curving end portions 26 of the bottom member are provided with square notches arranged to register with the notches I! already referred to.

The bottom member is also provided with two pair of narrow straight slots located on opposite sides of the ribs 2425.

A spring 29 for positioning the blade stack as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 is substantially rectangular and provided in its major axis with a pair of elongated slots spaced to correspond to the spacing of the studs 23. The spring is normally bowed or may be forcibly flattened against the inner face of the bottom member. The studs 23 then pass through its slots and the spring may be located temporarily and flattened in operative position by having the edges of its slots slipped into the throat of the undercut studs. In this locked position one edge of the spring projects over one edge of the inner face of the lower member 29. The spring 29 is locked in this inoperative position preparatory to placing the blades in stacked position upon the lower member of the magazine. In bringing top and bottom members of the magazine into assembled relation, the beveled faces of the ribs [5 on the top member encounters the projecting edge of the spring 29 and shift it laterally toward the right, thereby disengaging it from the studs 23 and permitting it to assume its normally-bowed condition, as shown in Fig. 7. It may be assumed that the spring is biased suificiently to locate the last blade of the stack in ejecting position and that the blade has been removed from the magazine. The side walls 2| and 22 on the bottom element are provided with projecting ribs which fit into and interlock with the slots iii of the top member. The meeting edges of the side walls H and I2, 22 and 2| are beveled so that the side walls I l and I2 may be sprung sufiiciently when forced together to permit such interlocking engagement.

The bottom member 20 includes in its lower face an inwardly offset partition or platform forming beneath it an elongated rectangular chamber 32, as best shown in Fig. 6, and this is converted into a receptacle for used blades by a cover 30, best shown in Fig. 5, which is provided with four projecting legs 3| one at each corner, shaped to be inserted through the slots of the bottom member and clinched over upon its inner face as shown in Fig. 8.

The inwardly offset area is defined at its opposite ends by transverse walls each located a substantial distance inwardly from the curved end of the bottom member 20. The receptacle for used blades is, therefore, substantially shorter than the magazine chamber for new blades, and the reason for this is that in the magazine the blades are arranged in longitudinally staggered further movement, its rear solid end relation, whereas the used blades may be conveniently stacked in substantial registration. It will be noted that there is a space of substantial size enclosed between the inner face of the transverse walls and the ends of the magazine. The construction above described contributes largely to a desirable compactness of the composite device and adapts it mechanically for the two purposes for which it is intended.

The opposite end edges of the cover 30 are shaped to present concave curves in its flat face and thus inlet openings are provided in the bottom wall of the receptacle through which successive used blades may be inserted, being slightly flexed in the process over the curved end portions of the bottom member and then lying in flat position within the chamber 32 in which they are thus safely retained. If desired, flanges or indentations 33 may be formed in the opposite corners of the cover 30, to exaggerate the flexing required in inserting the used blades.

The magazine is herein shown as designed to contain and receive safety razor blades 40 of a well-known commercial type, that is to say, blades having a centrally elongated slot and corner notches providing elongated unsharpened end portions. Such blades may be conveniently arranged in longitudinally staggered relation upon the studs 24 and 25 of the magazine and may be removed one after another by endwise movement through alternate ends of the magazine. The stack is meanwhile maintained in predetermined position bowed slightly in a transverse sense and with the uppermost blade engaged by the ribs M as already described. With the blade stack so located, the uppermost blade, as shown in Fig. 6, is properly positioned to be ejected through the left-hand exit slot of the magazine. For this purpose it may be engaged by the thumb or finger of the user inserted through the finger opening l3 and moved toward the left, its longitudinal slot permitting it to move freely until it has been ejected for about one-half its length so that it may be conveniently grasped by the user. In its rides smoothly up the inner beveled edge of the stud 25, passing over it and out through the exit slot. The longitudinal guide ribs 24 and 25 cooperate with the slots of the blades in guiding each successive blade in a rectilinear path in which its sharpened edges pass through the notches I'l21 of the exit slots, thus providing clearance that safeguards the keen fine edges of the blade.

It will be understood that the blades are arranged in longitudinally staggered relation upon the studs 24 and 25 as shown in Fig. 6, each blade being held positively against movement in one direction but free for ejecting movement in the other direction. For example, in Fig. 6 the uppermost blade is held by the rib 25 against movement toward the right but is free to move toward the left until its right-hand solid end portion encounters the inner beveled edge of the rib 25. The end portion of the blade is then flexed in riding over the rib and a slight amount of frictional resistance maintained. Similarly the second blade of the stack shown in Fig. 6 is held against movement toward the left but free, in its turn, to be moved toward the right.

The stack of blades staggered as above explained has an overall length considerably greater than the length of a single blade, or of blades stacked in registration as are those in the used blade compartment. The comparative lengths of the staggered blade enclosure and the used blade compartment are well shown in Fig. 6. This characteristic is important in the construction of a compact dispensing device capable of handling blades disposed in the desired staggered relation and of the same blades when used.

A desirable feature of the invention resides in the construction and arrangement of the spring 29 whose function is to hold the stack with its uppermost blade in contact with the ribs 14. It has been found that a stressed spring has the tendency to cause slow distortion of a magazine shell of resinous plastic material when stress is applied near opposite ends of the magazine. Even a slight deflection of the shell upsets the accuracy of the feeding contacts and may cause the blades to jam in the exit slots. We have found that the tendency to distort is obviated by arranging the stressed edges of the spring to engage the bottom of the magazine at transversely opposite edges in locations where the bottom is reinforced by the stiffening effect of the side walls.

Having thus disclosed our invention and described in detail an illustrative embodiment thereof, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A magazine for razor blades, comprising an elongated outer member having a top and parallel side walls, an elongated inner member having an intermediate inwardly offset platform and parallel side walls fitting within the side walls of the outer member, the top and platform of said members being spaced apart and thus forming between them a relatively long blade magazine chamber, a stack of longitudinally overlapping blades held in said chamber with their ends free of all contact, and a bottom cover fitting between the side walls of the inner member and forming with the offset platform thereof a used-blade compartment having a blade-receiving opening at its end, said compartment being shorter than said blade magazine chamber and of a length approxi mately that of a single blade.

2. A composite magazine and receptacle for used razor blades, comprising united top and bottom members tapering toward both ends and spaced thereat to provide blade-exit openings, the said bottom member having spaced inwardly extending transverse walls located respectively a substantial distance within each end and connected by an inwardly offset platform, and a cover member flush with the lower surface of the bottom member, forming therein a used blade receptacle and being separated in part therefrom at its end to provide a blade inlet slot.

3. A blade magazine having a used blade receptacle, comprising a plastic cover member and a plastic bottom member defining an elongated blade enclosure, tapering at both ends and provided therein with blade exit openings defined in part by each member, means within said enclosure for locating a stack of blades in longitudinally staggered relation, the said bottom member having transverse inwardly projecting Walls spaced from each other and connected by an inwardly offset partition lying wholly Within the 6 contour of the magazine, there being enclosed spaces of substantial size between the transverse walls and both ends of the magazine, and a sheet metal cover forming with the said partition an inlet slot and a receptacle for used blades in registered stack formation.

4. A blade magazine having a used blade receptacle, comprising a cover member and a bottom member defining an elongated blade enclosure, the bottom member having a transverse Wall spaced from each end, an inwardly offset partition connecting said walls, spaced studs on the inner face of the partition for holding a stack of blades in longitudinally staggered overlapping relation in said blade enclosure and a bottom cover defining with said offset partition a receptacle for used blades arranged in registration, and an inlet opening for the used blade receptacle formed in part by an edge of the bottom cover, said receptacle being substantially shorter than the blade enclosure and wholly contained within the contour of the magazine.

5. A blade magazine comprising top and bottom shells connected and providing a substantially rectangular, relatively long blade enclosure having an exit slot at one end and being of a length substantially greater than that of a single blade and thereby having capacity to contain double edged blades arranged in longitudinally staggered overlapping relation, the bottom shell being inwardly offset in its under wall and presenting a platform which is substantially shorter than the blade enclosure aforesaid, blade locating ribs above the platform holding the overlapping blades with their ends extending beyond the said platform, and a sheet metal cover providing with the platform a used blade compartment approximately the length of a single blade, the said compartment presenting an inlet opening defined in part by the cover and in part by the bottom shell.

lteferences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,167,768 Lochner Jan. 11, 1916 1,183,054 Week May 16, 1916 1,209,208 Roper Dec. 19, 1916 1,305,020 Stewart et al May 27, 1919 1,588,923 Wells June 15, 1926 1,911,627 Lashar May 30, 1933 1,989,516 Heppenstall Jan. 29, 1935 2,054,080 Haynes Sept. 15, 1936 2,055,493 Hothersall 1- Sept. 29, 1936 2,292,413 Taylor Aug. 11, 1942 2,298,594 Rueger Oct. 13, 1942 2,311,173 Hill Feb. 16, 1943 2,330,252 Testi Sept. 28, 1943 2,344,962 Benjamin Mar. 28, 1944 2,347,237 Benjamin Apr, 25, 1944 2,360,162 Reenstierna Oct. 10, 1944 2,401,127 Younghusband May 28, 1946 2,418,495 Auerbach Apr. 8, 1947 ,436,025 Steinbach Feb. 17, 1948 2,439,243 Dalkowitz Apr. 6, 1948 2,542,510 Gray Feb. 20, 1951 

